Police Department

SPD Arrests Domestic Violence after Standoff on Roof

Ofc. Joshua Laiva, PIO

Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at 4:48 p.m.

Today July 15, just after 0900 hrs., Spokane Police responded to the report of an Assault and violation of a Domestic Violence No Contact Order in the 3400 block of W 2^nd Ave.  Neighbors called in reporting a male was there fighting with a female who had an order against him.  Upon the arrival of the Officers, the victim was gone but soon returned to the scene in a vehicle.  Officers established probable cause to arrest the outstanding suspect, 28-year-old Christopher D. Smith, for a Felony Violation of the Domestic Violence (DV) No-Contact Order. 

There had been numerous prior calls to the residence involving Christopher where Officers had established probable cause to arrest him for DV Arson 1^st, DV Residential Burglary, DV Burglary 1^st, and multiple DV No-Contact Order Violations.  Officers had been actively searching for Christopher for the past several weeks.

After 0930 hrs., Officers responded to the area W Sprague Ave. / N Monroe St., for the report of a robbery.  Witnesses advised a male had tried to steal a female’s purse and had assaulted her.  An Officer was on scene reviewing surveillance video when he observed the robbery suspect, from the surveillance video, walking through the area.  The Officer pursued the robbery suspect for several blocks who eventually climbed a ladder into the roofs of the buildings in the 800 block of W Riverside Ave. 

The Officers conducting the initial DV investigation, were informed by the victim that she was actually also the victim of the robbery, and the suspect was Christopher. 

Multiple Officers responded and surrounded the building where Christopher was on the roof.  They also positively identified Christopher from previous booking photographs.  Additional resources from Hostage Negotiators, the SWAT Team, and K9 Units responded to assist with apprehending Christopher.  For the safety of all the involved parties, the nearby roadways were closed during this incident. 

Negotiators spoke with Christopher who refused to come down off the roof.  A group of Officers were eventually able to get on the roof, and take Christopher into custody without incident.  With the assistance of a boom truck with a bucket, from the Spokane Fire Department, Officers were able to safely get Christopher off the roof.  Neither Christopher nor any of the Officers were injured during this incident.

Christopher was booked into the Spokane County Jail for Felony DV No-Contact Order Violation, Robbery 2^nd DV, Arson 1^st DV, Residential Burglary DV, Burglary 1^st DV, Malicious Mischief 3^rd DV, and multiple additional DV No-Contact Order Violations. 

This incident highlights the danger that domestic violence perpetrators present to the community, law enforcement, and themselves.  Christopher’s behavior had been escalating over the past few weeks culminating in today’s incident downtown.  The Spokane Police Department encourages anyone who is involved in a Domestic Violence incident to call 911 or visit the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition Resource Page at https://endtheviolencespokane.org/images/Resources-Pages.pdf

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